I’m pondering on changing out my LCAs with ones that have zerks to grease the ball joints. That being said I’m just a tad concerned with sheering them off with a rock or stump, but honestly I’ve never seen any rash in that area. What do y’all think?
LCAs with zerks (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Olgx460
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Personally I’d maintenance the lca you have with a new ball joint or buy new factory lca. Just because it’s greasable doesn’t mean it’s reliable. Attach the LCA you’re considering and then we’ll have more information to go off of. Has your LCA failed in another way?
I have Moog LCAs on my GX470 with zerked ball joints. My OEM ball joints were a bit floppy at 145K when I lifted the rig, so the whole LCA got replaced. The actual zerks are between the top of the ball joint and the CV, so there is no way to shear off the zerk (it's honestly kind of tight to get to - i turn the wheels to full-lock when greasing them). I have around 30-35K on the ball joints so far, no issues. They get 5-6 pumps of Lucas Red 'n Tacky grease at every oil change (5K miles). I do like that adding new grease pushes the old out past the bottom of the grease boot - basically the LBJ is always under a slight grease pressure and I think this helps keep gunk out. I do lots of creek crossings etc so the LBJs end up submerged pretty often.
The OEM-style ball joint has the ball riding in a plastic cup. They'll usually last ~150K - sometimes more - without an issue. Most would agree that the OEM style ball joints are very high-quality. If your OEM LCAs are fine I wouldn't bother upgrading just for a zerk. If they are getting worn out, you can use name-brand LCAs with greaseable lower ball joints and - in my experience - they are totally fine and half the cost of OEM.
The OEM-style ball joint has the ball riding in a plastic cup. They'll usually last ~150K - sometimes more - without an issue. Most would agree that the OEM style ball joints are very high-quality. If your OEM LCAs are fine I wouldn't bother upgrading just for a zerk. If they are getting worn out, you can use name-brand LCAs with greaseable lower ball joints and - in my experience - they are totally fine and half the cost of OEM.
- Thread starter
- #4
These are the LCAs that caught my eye, my front end has an occasional shimmy, vibration at speed and it’s not the tires or wheels. I will be installing the stronger steering pinion spring thing to see if that fixes it but if not then it’s on the the joints.
- Thread starter
- #5
They haven’t failed, nor do I want them to while I’m out in BFE with no cell service.
they only have 90k on them so they should be fine.With only 90K on your rig, I'd be very surprised if you balljoints are worn, unless you have ripped boots letting debris in.
There are also other parts that can cause issues - steering rack bushings, tie rods, upper ball joints, etc.
There are also other parts that can cause issues - steering rack bushings, tie rods, upper ball joints, etc.
r2m
Richard
I have Icon control arms and never had an issue and I've gone through my share of rock gardens, not that I look for them or want to do them...
I've never heard of that happening. But that doesn't mean it hasn't.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2020
- Threads
- 73
- Messages
- 504
- Location
- Chandler, AZ
- Website
- www.wastingtimeinthewoods.com
Even if you sheared them off the I don’t think grease wouldn’t go anywhere fast. Grease only flings with momentum like in the case of a u joint or spinning cv. But in any case, Id just go oem. They last 150-200k and have a MUCH lower failure rate than aftermarket. There’s not much performance to be gained on a lca unless you’re going long travel which is a whole other animal.
Unfortunately you can’t replace the lower balljoints on a oem 460. They’re riveted to the arm so its really all or none on the lca’s, but agreed; OEM is the way to go unless you’re building a hard core rock crawler.
I'm pretty sure they are the same as the 120 platform where they can be pressed out. Lexus will only sell you the whole LCA, but you can also get Japanese-made 555 joints fairly inexpensively.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2020
- Threads
- 73
- Messages
- 504
- Location
- Chandler, AZ
- Website
- www.wastingtimeinthewoods.com
I found a 5th gen forum post where someone said they were able to use a 555 but had to do some grinding to make it work. Seems a little crazy to me considering how critical the part is, but I guess it is possible. I rebuilt the lca’s on my 3rd gen which has oem bj’s and bushes available and is designed for rebuilds. Wish I had just bought the full LCA’s.
I agree that it's not worth the effort to swap LBJs and bushings alone. If the LBJ is shot chances are the bushings are cracked and worn too. Mine were certainly getting worn out at 145k, although I did keep the OEMs for a future rebuild (which will probably never happen, I'll just replace them again
).The 3rd gen LCA/LBJ setup (and honestly most of the front suspension setup) really sucks compared to the 120/150+ setup. I noticed this when lifting my buddy's 1st gen Tundra, which is very similar to the 3rd Gen 4Runner. We used Moog LCAs (I think they were <$100 each) and OEM Toyota LBJs. The 120+ LBJ is set up so the weight of the rig is pushing the LBJ into it's socket, not pulling it out of it's socket like the 3rd gen. So it's a much less critical part on a 120+ due to the 3rd gen design flaw getting fixed.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2020
- Threads
- 73
- Messages
- 504
- Location
- Chandler, AZ
- Website
- www.wastingtimeinthewoods.com
It only sucks if you think a design that tends to have a wheel fall off from a worn ball joint is a bad thing
but if it’s in good shape, a stock 3rd gen will out wheel a 120 or 150 stock any day. Now trying to get up a steep climb without traction control or getting through a long day comfortably are different stories, but we’re getting kind of off topic here 
Last edited:
